Code Geass: Rivalz of the Rebellion
by shadowsofthealmighty
Summary: With a single choice, one character's life is changed forever. How will he cope with the new sitiations he is thrown into? How will the story react to him? Will Tamaki finally have someone to talk to? We can only hope...
1. Prolouge

Code Geass: Rivalz of the Rebellion

Prologue: Queen and Pawn

_No. Impossible._

Kallen still couldn't believe the sudden revelation as she ran out of the cave, the sound of Zero's cry and Suzaku's attack still ringing in her ears. The ace of the Black Knights, Q-1, was completely destroyed, not by an enemy attack; indeed, her Guren was still quite intact. It wasn't even from friendly fire or an accident; even that she could of lived with.

No, she was destroyed... by Zero...

_Impossible. It's not true._

She finally broke out of the cave and into the cold night air of Kamine Island. Panting, she looked around, adrenaline rushing to every part of her body. Ahead of her was the infamous Lancelot, though useless to her without the pass code. Further away in the bushes, she had hidden the craft she had commandeered to get to the island. Otherwise, the island was desrted.

In the darkness, she leaned forward, hands on her legs, shaking softly. Inside, the sounds of the fight had died out completely, leaving the island in eerie silence. In this silence, Kallen attempted in vain to come to terms with what she had just learned.

_Lelouch... is Zero..._

Suddenly, she looked up, the sound of footsteps approaching from the cavern. In a panic, she dashed for the bushes, hiding in the foliage just in time for the figure to stride out of the damned place. Suzaku Kururugi, gun in one hand, a hand-cuffed Zero in the other, lead away his captive.

_Not Zero... Lelouch..._

"Kallen?"

Kallen started as she heard the muffled voice behind her. She turned around quickly and came face to face with the Black Knight's second Knightmare ace... P-1.

While everyone knew Kallen's face and name, P-1 was nearly as enigmatic as Zero himself. Many considered him to be closer to Zero that Kallen was, and she was in charge of his personal guard. He was rarely outside of his own Knightmare. But yet, here she was, face-to-face with possibly Zero's most trusted asset.

P-1 was a tall figure, not imposing like the Black King himself, but definitely noticeable. His body was covered with a long Black Knight's trench coat that made him appear bigger than he really was. Over his face was a simple ski mask, minus the mouth hole, which obscured his face from the prying eyes. Upon his head was perched the standard headgear of the Black Knights, topping off the enigmatic man who came out of nowhere, much like Zero, to the forefront of the Japanese resistance.

And here he was, arm clutched over a wound in his side.

"P-1." Kallen said softly as the man approached her quietly.

"What's going on?" P-1 asked, concern present in his muffled voice. "Where's Zero?"

Kallen opened her mouth, but no words managed to come out. Eventually, P-1 turned his attention towards the beach, where Suzaku was forcing the unmasked Zero into the Lancelot, much like the other time on Shikinejima. Seeing this, P-1 straightened up, causing him to wince in pain.

Through gritted teeth and the fabric of his mask, P-1 gasped, "Is that... Zero?"

As the Lancelot began to close up, and with Kallen still not giving an answer, P-1 immediately started rushing towards the beach. In a desperate, wild moment, Kallen grabbed P-1 and held him back. Meanwhile, the masked ace stared at the activating Lancelot, one hand holding onto his wound while the other tried to beat back Kallen.

"Kallen... what?" He managed to stutter at the red head that was holding him back. "Why are you... ZERO!" He cried as the Lancelot lifted into the air, their leader with it.

"Please, you don't understand." Kallen Kozuki said, tears in her eyes, grabbing onto P-1's coat and mask to try and stop him.

"Yes... I... DO!" With a final great pull, P-1 managed to break out of Kallen's grasp, but her hand was still firmly wrapped around the ski mask, causing it to slip from his face as he fell to the ground.

Kallen too fell backwards, holding the mask of P-1, and was soon on her back, looking into the deep night sky. Meanwhile, the masked ace was crying after the Lancelot, yelling, "ZERO!"

But Kallen recognized that voice, now that the mask was no longer obscuring his face. Shocked, she slowly looked up and saw the blue-haired head of P-1 as he reached out to the flying Lancelot. The hair was the only thing that Kallen could see, but it's distinctive spikes gave away the enigmatic P-1's true identity.

_No. Impossible._

Kallen, feeling as she had mere moments before, asked slowly, "Rivalz?"

P-1 suddenly stopped calling up to the sky, and his outstretched hand flew to his face, feeling the lack of his characteristic ski mask. Slowly, he turned around and faced Kallen Kozuki for the first time outside of school.

Rivalz, his face worn and apologetic, sighed as he looked into Kallen's bewildered eyes.

"It's... a long story..."

_Author's Note: Well, I hope this generates more reaction than my last story. Anyway, this is my second idea for a Code Geass fanfiction, a retelling of the events of Code Geass if one very simple change had been made early on in the series. Now, the chapters aren't supposed to be this short, but I really wanted to get this one up and posted quickly so I could get feedback as soon as possible. In any case Read, Review, and please don't just destroy the piece because you simply don't like it. Constructive criticism is welcome._

_P.S. And yes, I did say that Rivalz was one of the Black Knight's aces. (Head in hands) Just... roll with that one, okay? You'll soon see what happened if this generates a high enough buzz._


	2. Master and Spectator

Code Geass: Rivalz of the Rebellion

Turn One: Master and Spectator

_It's a long story..._

_..._

"Checkmate." Lelouch Lamperouge said, pointing his king at his opponent

His face a mask of horrified shock, the nobleman stared mutely at the chess board in front of him. In just a few minutes, and with only twenty seconds per turn, the little schoolboy had managed to turn an impossible-to-win scenario into an overwhelming victory. Beside him, the two guards gaped at the board, trying to figure out how the kid had done it. Lelouch, the only person in the room not surprised by this turn of events, triumphantly smirked.

Behind him, his chauffer and best friend Rivalz Cardemonde grinned happily.

Among many things, Lelouch's chess skill always surprised him.

"I love playing against the nobility, when they lose, they always pay in pride." Rivalz said later, grinning from ear to ear as they left the building. _Of course_, he thought, _the money wasn't exactly bad winnings either_. "By the way, 8 minutes 32 seconds is a new record."

"He also didn't have much time to move either." Lelouch said dryly, not as excited about his brilliant win as Rivalz was. "And as opponents go, the nobles are tepid. They're just over-privileged parasites, that's all."

_Again with the cynicism?_ Rivalz inwardly asked, but he just continued to outwardly grin. "Well then, why don't you challenge one of the Elevens?" He honestly suggested, walking in front of the chess master. "They're nothing like us Britannians..."

Looking back into Lelouch's eyes, he noticed the little spark that seemed to flare up whenever somebody mentioned Elevens. But it was only there briefly, and soon Lelouch was looking over Rivalz's shoulder. Hearing the sound of the murmuring crowd behind him, Lelouch's blue-haired friend turned forward again to see a large screen mounted on a building, showing an image of a smoking building.

_The Osaka terrorist attack?_ Rivalz's thoughts echoed those voiced by the crowd. Recently, terrorists have stepped up their attacks against the Britannian management under Viceroy Clovis. But why keep attacking the Britannian people? Granted, Britannia _did_ take Area Eleven over, but Clovis was nice to the conquered Elevens compared to other Areas.

Soon, the image on the screen dissolved into a Britannian flag, and finally changed to the face of Clovis la Britannia, Viceroy of Area of Eleven. "To all of my Imperial subjects, including the many cooperative Elevens that choose to serve the Holy Empire of Britannia!"

_Of course he's giving a speech_, Rivalz thought as he headed over to the spot where he parked his motorcycle. Though not stopping to listen, he did manage to catch some of the Viceroy's speech as he walked to his bike. "...I would like you to join me in observance of the eight who died for justice..."

_Eight?_ Rivalz frowned, _I could've sworn 59 were killed. Oh, right_, the blue-haired student remembered as he reached his bike, _those were Elevens..._

"Well aren't you going to join in?" He asked Lelouch as his friend took care of the ticket.

"Aren't you?" Lelouch asked back, quite aware that neither had any intention of observing the moment of silence.

"Heh, it's sorta embarrassing..." Rivalz laughed and leaned against his bike. _That and I never really bought into that whole military patriotic stuff._

"And I agree with you." Lelouch said, looking at the ticket, "Besides, spilling tears over those people won't bring them back to life, now will it?"

Rivalz's eyes grew wide as he placed his goggles over them. "Dang, that's dark buddy."

"It's all about self-satisfaction." Lelouch looked away from the ticket and up at the screen where Clovis la Britannia was observing the moment of silence alongside his subjects. "No matter how hard you try, you can't do it, you can't change the world."

_Who was talking about changing the world?_ Rivalz thought and got onto his bike. _Lelouch, why are you always so pessimistic? _Hereally wanted to ask this out loud, but he never really got around to. Shrugging, he turned on the bike as Lelouch got into the sidecar, where he opened a book he had begun on the ride over. _It's just one of the things that makes Lelouch Lelouch..._

... ... ...

"That first move you made..."

Lelouch looked up from his book to look at Rivalz, who had broken the silence that had fallen between them during the trip back to campus.

Looking out of the corner of his goggles, Rivalz asked, "Why'd you start with the king?"

Lelouch returned to his book and answered, "If the king doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?"

"What's with that?" Rivalz asked again, finally getting tired of the philosophy.

"With what?" His friend replied innocently, still looking at his book.

"Do you fantasize about running a major corporation?" _There has to be some explanation about why you think like that..._

"No way," Lelouch replied, shaking his head, "ambitions like that will ruin your health..."

But before he could continue (if he wanted to), a sudden honking jolted Rivalz and his passenger. Looking backwards, he saw a gigantic truck, mere inches from their relatively puny motorcycle, honking at them to get out of the way. The really scary part? it was still gaining on them.

Adrenaline rushing to his head, Rivalz yelled, "WAAGH! We're gonna die!" His heart racing, he swerved wildly, panicking Lelouch, the driver of the truck, and even himself. The wild shaking threw the driver off, and the truck drove off the road, through a flimsy blockade, and straight into a construction zone. The danger passed, Rivalz braked hard, pulling up to the side of the road, and letting out a long sigh of relief.

Looking over at the construction site, Rivalz witnessed the huge plume of dust that rose from the collision of automobile and building. "Eh, was that our fault?" He asked Lelouch.

"I don't think so..." Lelouch replied.

Getting out of the bike, Rivalz looked to see the extent of the damage done to his precious bike. He leaned down and immediately noticed the one major casualty from his wild maneuvers. "Ah, this sucks." Rivalz whined. "Looks like the power line got cut."

"Yeah..." Lelocuh replied, clearly distracted by something in the construction yard. _Yeah, car crashes tend to do that_, Rivalz thought. "Rivalz, check this out."

Looking up from the damage, he barely managed to see through the dust and debris a faint green glitter, like fantastical fairy dust, before it vanished into the truck. _What the hell..._ Rivalz thought, peering into the wreckage.

"All those idiots." Rivalz looked back at Lelouch at his sudden remark. Following his eyes, Rivalz noticed a group of people that had lined up on a ledge overlooking the crash, talking to themselves about what just happened, taking photographs. _Exactly_, Rivalz thought, car crashes tend to do that...

Suddenly, he could hear footsteps running away from him. Turning suddenly, he say Lelouch throw his helmet, gloves, and protective glasses into the side car and run off towards the off ramp.

"Wait!" Rivalz called out after his friend, but there was no stopping him as Lelouch ran towards the crashed truck.

At this moment, Rivalz faced a crushing moral dilemma. Should he go after his friend? Or should he not abandon his damaged (and heavy) bike? Looking between the two, Rivalz was genuinely torn over what to do. Lelouch isn't going to be in any harm, Rivalz thought and turned towards his bike, intending on pushing it with him. Pausing, a thought passed through his head: but what about the green dust?

"Gaaargh!" Rivalz groaned, and rushed after his friend, leaving the crippled bike behind.

"Lelouch!" He cried after his black-haired friend, who was currently trying to move a pillar that had fallen on the cab and prevented his access to it. "Lelouch, I know this is the right thing and all, but could you give it a rest for a while, now we're going to be late to... are you listening to me?"

Clearly not paying attention to Rivalz, Lelouch proceeded to climb up a ladder that lead to the top of the truck in order to get better access to the cab.

"Lelouch, will you listen to me?" Exasperated, Rivalz grabbed the ladder and began climbing up after Lelouch.

"Rivalz, I'm just..." But suddenly the raven-haired boy froze, looking into space. After a second, he snapped out of it and looked around, disoriented. "What the...?"

"Lelouch, what was it?" Rivalz asked, but before he could say anything, the engine suddenly roared into life again. This thing isn't crashed? Rivalz cried inwardly. The vehicle began speeding backwards, accelerating suddenly. Instinctively, Rivalz grabbed onto the ladder, holding on tight as the vehicle backed up and sped away. When Rivalz next dared to open his eyes, Lelouch was no longer at the top of the ladder.

"Lelouch?" He cried out, panic once again returning. He desperately looked around, trying to see where Lelouch had fallen from the speeding truck, but he couldn't see anyone or anything.

"Stop! There's someone in here!" Rivalz caught his breath as he heard the familiar, albeit faint, voice of his friend from inside the truck. Risking his own life, Rivalz began to climb the ladder, wind slapping at the parts of his face not covered by his helmet or goggles.

After what felt like ages, Rivalz reached the top of the truck's container, and called inside, "Lelouch!" Inside a hole in the top of the vehicle, Rivalz saw his friend look up at him.

"Rivalz! Help me out!" Lelouch cried back, holding out his hand. Desperately, Rivalz stretched out his own arm, trying in vain to reach for Lelouch.

"I'm... trying... GAH!" In a moment when he reached too far, the truck lurched, breaking Rivalz's hold on the ladder. Tumbling, Rivalz was sent into the hole in the top, crashing heavily on Lelouch's body.

When both of their eyes opened, Rivalz was on top of Lelouch, staring straight into his violet eyes. Chuckling, Rivalz asked, "So... would you call this a hit and run?"

Among many things, Lelouch's patience always managed to surprise him.

_..._

_It's a long story... but I think it all began there..._

_..._

_Author's Note: Aaaaand...there's Chapter One officially. We've finally introduced the point of divergence for this story; it all goes downhill for Rivalz from here. I'm glad to hear all of the positive feedback I have been getting with this fanfiction and I hope to live up to your expectations. Until next time, stay strong, and All Hail Brit- (P-1 looks at him) -Japan... I meant Japan._

_RESPONSES:_

_Zoomatron: Cute, funny, but unfortunately incorrect. While that would be the typical style of Code Geass fanfiction (everyone and his mother gets Geass), Rivalz is not going to get Geass. He is, however, going to find some hidden talents._

_KiKi Hayashi: Thanks for the input and inspiration. You just gave me a more interesting way to introduce each chapter. I applaud your (probably unintentional) inspiration_

_Worker72: Don't think Rivalz is off the hook comedy-wise. He's still Rivalz, and there's still going to be jokes. But I do plan on developing him more as a character. As I said, how's he going to react to his new situation or, more specifically, how will his nature react._


	3. Hostages and Friends

Code Geass: Rivalz of the Rebellion

Turn Two: Hostages and Friends

_You know, at the time, I thought things could never be any worse than they were then..._

_..._ ... ...

"Rivalz," Lelouch said, his voice level and firm, "get off of me."

"Sorry." Rivalz apologized and rolled off of his friend. Pushing themselves up, the two looked around the dark container of the truck.

"Aw man," Rivalz complained, rubbing the back of his head, "First these guys run us off the road, and now they kidnap us..."

"They're not kidnapping us." Lelouch said, looking around for either a way out or a way to contact the drivers. "It's not their fault we fell into their truck." Scowling, he muttered after his fruitless search, "You'd think they'd stick a ladder on the inside..."

"Stop the vehicle!"

Both Lelouch and Rivalz started at the sound of the megaphone-enhanced voice. "Surrender now and you'll get a chance to defend yourselves in court!"

"What? Surrender...?" Rivalz asked aloud. "Why do they need to sur-GAH!" A spray of bullets hitting the road around the vehicle caused the truck to swerve, sending its unwilling passengers to the ground yet again.

"Why are they firing on us!" Rivalz cried, pulling himself up with something protruding from the vehicle's cargo.

"There's only one explanation." Lelouch groaned and helped himself up with the same cargo. "They're terrorists."

"What? You mean the guys shooting at..." Rivalz began, but his statement was cut short by a glare from Lelouch, causing the blue-haired teen to finally understand. "Oh, you mean the people in the truck!" Holding his hands over his eyes, he leaned back and cried, "WAAGH! I knew it, we're being kidnapped!"

"Rivalz, keep quiet." Lelouch hissed and started climbing on the device that they had propped themselves up on earlier.

"How are we going to get out of this, Lelouch?"

"We don't stand much chance but to ride it out." Lelouch bitterly remarked, looking up at the skylight, now showing the overhead lighting of a tunnel. "If we jump out, we have the choice of either breaking our necks or getting shot. We _can_ try to call for..."

But he was interrupted as a door in the front of the truck's container opened up, revealing a figure in the doorway.

"Wa-!" Rivalz began to cry, but Lelouch clamped a hand over his mouth and dragged him into the shadows. Fortunately, the figure in the doorway was shouting back to someone in the front cabin, probably the driver.

"Can you enter the subway through the Azabu route?" the figure, a young woman, no older than Lelouch or Rivalz by the looks of her, strode into the back compartment and took off a white trenchcoat, revealing what appeared to be a red and brown form-fitting combat uniform of some kind.

"Kallen! Let's use it here, why not?" The driver, a male, called back to her as she climbed up some steps into a box at the far end of the truck.

"Because that would mean a bloodbath!" She argued back, forcing the other voice to agree with her.

Meanwhile, both Lelouch and RIvalz had the same thought_: I know that girl_. Though while Lelouch stared at the back of her head and her characteristic red spikes, Rivalz stared a little further south.

The female terrorist climbed into the back of the box and sealed it up behind her. Suddenly, a loud roaring filled the compartment as an old sakuradite engine blasted to life. The door opened a fraction, allowing a sliver of light to strike the box, which had fallen apart to reveal its contents. A slash harken flew out and obliterated one of the pursuing aircraft, causing it to explode in the air. The doors were thrown open, allowing the red knightmare that the female terrorist was now piloting to leap out onto the road.

Seeing a chance for freedom, Rivalz launched himself at the door. "Hey! Wait!" He cried, but he fell face-first into the back door of the truck as it closed on him. "Man," He whined, rubbing his nose, "I was this close..."

"I know I've seen her before..." Lelouch murmured, still standing by the package remaining in the vehicle.

"Lelouch, maybe you should be more focused on our situation than on some girl." Rivalz hypocritically said, "We're lucky to be alive this long. If the terrorists don't kill us, then the police will." Throwing his hands over his face, he cried, "And if they don't kill us, then _Milly_ will!"

"Are you really more scared of Milly than terrorists?" Lelocuh asked half-jokingly, but it was clear that Rivalz was wearing on his nerves.

Rivalz looked up in shock, "Wha-Yes, I mean no, I mean..."

But his explanation was once again cut short by a rain of bullets hitting the car. Instinctively, they both fell to the floor, shielding their heads with their hands. Fortunately, no bullets made their way into the protected container, but the truck veered off of the highway, turning onto one of the exits and onto a rough road. The light coming from the skylight overhead became a dingy grey before fading out completely.

"Why do I always have the worst luck!" Rivalz asked aloud, lifting his face from the ground.

"I'm here too remember." Lelouch testily replied as he crawled up and sat on the cargo.

Looking up, Rivalz noticed the lack of sky and the vast expanse of crumbling concrete above them. "Woah, what happened to the lights?"

"Judging by the darkness and road surface," Lelouch said testily, "We must be in one of the old subway tunnels." Lelouch pulled out his cell phone, flipping it open only to growl at it unhappily. "Of course, no signal underground."

Rivalz pushed himself up from the floor and noticed the female terrorist's trenchcoat, which she had left lying on the same object Lelouch was sitting on. "Lelouch." Rivalz pointed at the walkie-talkie hanging out of one of the pockets.

Lelouch looked over and grimaced. "Well, I'm not a fan of the military..." He muttered just loud enough that Rivalz heard it and grabbed the communicator, "...but I'll take their protection. If I gave them a terrorist communicator..."

Rivalz looked at Lelouch questioningly. _What?_ He thought, _maybe we can use it to talk to someone other than the terrorists? And why don't you like the military? Sure, they may be firing at us now..._

But, yet again, Rivalz was thrown out of his thoughts and into a wall as the truck skidded to a stop, suddenly braking for no conceivable reason. While Rivalz was unceremoniously thrown to the ground, Lelouch was only shaken a little.

"An accident?" Lelouch thought aloud.

"More like an earthquake." His blue-haired friend remarked, leaning against the same wall that he had been so rudely thrown against mere seconds before. From this point of view, he noticed a slight spark that jumped out of the object Lelouch was sitting on, followed by a brief plume of the same green pixie dust they saw before.

Before Rivalz could bring it to Lelouch's attention, however, the side entrance to the truck suddenly began sliding open. Shocked, Rivalz and Lelouch darted out of the sudden light and into the shadows_. Oh please Mr. terrorist_, Rivalz pleaded inwardly, _don't kill me. Please don't kill me. Or at least don't let Milly kill me..._

However, nobody came through the now opened door. Slowly, the two looked out of the container and into the grim subway tunnel. Not a soul could be seen anywhere nearby, terrorist or otherwise.

"Man, what was up with that?" Rivalz laughed weakly as Lelouch also looked out into the empty tunnel. Turning back, Rivalz finally got a good look at the cargo. It was a large sphere, dotted with massive tubes sticking out of it, complete with valves and displays. "Wow, I wonder what was so important they had to steal...?" He rubbed his head and walked towards the strange object.

"Rivalz!" Lelouch suddenly cried, causing Rivalz to spin around. All he managed to see was a black boot slamming into his face and sending him spinning to the floor. The teenager and his face collided heavily with the ground, causing him to release a little whimper.

In a flash the unknown assailant had grabbed Rivalz and pulled him face-to-face. Rivalz kept his eyes closed, trying to hold his hands in front of him as a pathetic defense. "Not in the face!" He weakly pleaded.

"That's enough senseless violence." the attacker growled at defenseless Rivalz.

"What are you talking about?" Rivalz cried, opening his eyes. Finally, he saw the grey mask of an infantry soldier staring him in the eyes. "Wait!" He tried to plead again, "I'm not one of..."

"Planning to use poison gas!" At this Rivalz and Lelouch both gasped. _Poison gas?_ Rivalz inwardly screamed, _we are on a truck with poison gas? That's what the dust was! Man, I have the worst luck..._

"Poison gas?" Lelouch asked, stepping forward. The soldier looked up into the face of RIvalz's friend and gasped. "If it's poison gas, then it was made in Britannia, wasn't it?"

"My god..." The attacker gasped, dropping Rivalz's head.

"Mindless murder? Then why don't you just obliterate Britannia!"

"Lelouch!" Rivalz cried out in shock at his friend's outburst, "now's not the time to make him an-", but the soldier had already stood up and looked Lelouch in the face.

"Lelouch?" The soldier asked, removing his mask. Lelouch inhaled sharply, his eyes widened considerably, as shock, happiness, and sorrow crossed over his face. The soldier lifted the mask off of his head, revealing a green-eyed, brown-haired, Eleven smiling at the black-haired youth. Grinning, the soldier said, "It's me, Suzaku."

Rivalz looked between the happy Eleven and his shocked best friend. Completely confused, Rivalz thought, _Why do I feel that I'm missing seven years worth of backstory?_

_..._ ... ...

_Author's Note: Dear god, I'm sorry for the completely unnecessary wait between updates. I guess I could say that I was too busy with schoolwork and... (P-1 pokes a gun into my ribs) OKAY! I get it, I was just procrastinating! Anyways, I really need to get this thing going. Just keep the comments rolling._

_RESPONSES:_

_Worker72: Thanks for the continued praise. I only have a rough idea of what's going to happen during R2, including Lelouch getting his memories back. Side note: If anybody has any ideas, feel free to give them to me._

_Sakurahanaalice: Yeah, Rivalz may regret his decision in the future, but it'll irrevocably change his character. (Cue Wicked song: "Changed for the Better") A lot of the keeping in character was due to me actually taking the lines from the first episode up to that point and putting them in there. I just hope I can keep him in character now that I'm writing the lines myself. And yes, I can't wait to see how he rises up the ranks of the Black Knights myself ^U^._


	4. Murderer and Demon

Code Geass: Rivalz of the Rebellion

Turn Three: Murderer and Demon

_But things hadn't even begun to get bad..._

_..._ ... ...

"S-Suzaku...?" Lelouch gasped. "You...You became a Britannian soldier?"

"Uuh..." Rivalz looked between his friend and the random Eleven that Rivalz knew nothing about.

"Yeah." The soldier continued, putting his helmet under his arm. "And what about you? You're..."

"Um, hello?" Rivalz asked, pushing himself up from the ground and rubbing his face, "Is nobody going to explain to me what's going on here?"

Suzaku turned around, just now remembering the man he kicked to the floor mere seconds ago. "Who's he?" The Eleven soldier asked Lelouch.

Lelouch looked back, also forgetting Rivalz because of his old friend's return. "That's Rivalz. He's one of my school..."

But now it was time for Lelouch to be interrupted, for out of nowhere, the container in the truck suddenly glowed, humming mysteriously. The tubes sticking out of it suddenly detached, allowing the spherical object to break apart. As Suzaku tackled Lelouch to the floor of the truck, forcing a gas mask on his face, Rivalz simply fell backwards, out of the open door and into the tunnel.

Crashing into the ground with his hands covering his face, Rivalz cried, "WAAGH! I don't want to die!"

As he fell, his life flashed before his eyes. Granted, it was short and uneventful save for the occurrences of the past hour, but a life was a life, and Rivalz wasn't keen on losing his.

He slammed to the ground and waited for the rush of gas over his face that never came. Instead, there was a sprinkling of dust, a glow from behind his eyes, and a gasp from the two teenagers still in the terrorist vehicle. Moments later, there was a thud as a warm, soft, cloth-wrapped object fell on top of Rivalz.

"That's not poison gas..." He could hear the Eleven soldier say in shock.

_Not poison gas?_ Rivalz thought and opened an eye. Obscuring his vision was a tangle of long green hair. Pushing himself up slightly, he could see a semi-conscious woman, wrapped in an unnecessarily complex white straightjacket, lying on top of his fallen form.

"Uh, not that I'm complaining much," Rivalz said shakily, "but there's a girl lying on top of me."

Quickly, Lelouch and the soldier picked the girl up and set her on the ground. They huddled over her, undoing the straps and leaving Rivlaz to the side. _Man, who is this guy? And how does Lelouch know him?_ He thought, rubbing his head.

"Tell me the truth Suzaku," Lelouch asked the soldier, struggling with straps holding the strange girl's arms, "poison gas? This girl?"

"Hey, it's what they told us in the briefing, I swear." The soldier (Suzaku apparently) replied, unzipping a portion of the straightjacket that bound her legs.

"Well either someone screwed up in the military," Rivalz chimed in, kneeling over the woman, "or someone's..."

A sudden light blinded the trio, a voice calling out, "That's quite enough."

Squinting through the blinding light, Rivalz could make out ten soldiers, pointing their guns at the trio around the girl. As his eyes adjusted, he could make out the red uniforms of the men. These _guys aren't the regular army..._ Rivalz noticed. _Then maybe... Clovis' Royal Guard...?_

The Eleven soldier stood up and rushed over to the newcomers and immediately saluted to their commanding officer, "Sir, I was told this was poison gas..."

"How dare you question orders!" The officer sneered at the Eleven, causing Lelouch to scowl at the man under his breath.

"However," the officer continued, "in light of your outstanding military achievements I'm going to be lenient." Extending a gun to the Eleven, the officer ordered, "Private Kururugi, take this and execute the terrorists."

"WHA-!" Rivalz cried as Lelouch and the Eleven both gasped. "Bu-but we're not...!"

"Silence!" The officer barked, causing Rivalz to back down. _How can he call us terrorists... so quickly?_

"But sir," The Eleven defended the two next to the girl, "they're not terrorists; they're civilians who got caught up in all of this!"

"You insubordinate little...!" The officer growled, looking like he was going to lash out at the soldier, but he restrained himself. "That's an order. Didn't you swear your life and loyalty to Britannia?"

"Yes, but... but I can't"

"What?" The officer growled.

"I won't do it sir. I won't harm civilians." He turned away from his commanding officer and looked directly at Lelouch, smiling softly and sadly. "I can't follow your orders sir."

_I can't believe this_, Rivalz stared at the brave soldier. _He's disobeying the military for Lelouch... and me too...?_

"Very well."

With a muffled bang, the brave soldier stiffened and crumpled in a heap on the floor, a bullet in his side.

"Suzaku!" Lelouch cried out, half standing up.

"Dammit! Why'd you just shoot him?" Rivalz cried out too, but was silenced when the officer's gun was leveled at him.

"This was a very bad day to skip class, student." The officer said in a low menacing tone. Glancing at his soldiers, the officer said, "Collect the girl. After that's done, kill the boys."

"Yes, my lord." The assembled soldiers said in unsettling unison.

"No, wait!" Rivalz said, stepping in front of Lelouch, his arms outstretched. "I can't let you do this!"

"RIvalz... you idiot..." Lelouch hissed behind his friend's back, but Rivalz paid no attention to that.

"If you want them, you're going to have to go through me first." Rivalz glared down at the officer with all the little intimidation he could muster.

Shrugging the officer replied, "Fine by me." And pointed the pistol at Rivalz's forehead.

Eyes widening, Rialz realized, _Man, this is the stupidest thing I've ever done..._

And with a bang, the word exploded.

Literally.

The truck behind him was suddenly consumed by a violent explosion, flames surging outwards and throwing everyone there off of their feet. A section of the roof, already weakened by age and finally broken by the sudden explosion, shattered into large chunks and fell to the ground. Through some strange instinct that whispered at the back of his head, Rivalz threw himself to the side and managed to avoid the collapsing ceiling.

When he finally looked up, the rubble had cut him, Lelouch, and the girl off from the Britannian soldiers, leaving the students with an entire tunnel network to flee down.

"Rivalz! Run!" Lelouch cried, pulling the girl into his arms and sprinting down the hall. Not needing to be told twice, the blue-haired teen followed after his friend, putting as much distance between himself and the burning wreckage of the truck.

As he ran, his thoughts raced alongside him, _So it has to be some sort of cover up. But for what? Who is this girl? Who was that Eleven soldier, Suzaku? How does he know Lelouch? Why did I get wrapped up in all of this? _Holding his head in his hands, he inwardly whined_, Gah, all of this is making my head spin..._

Suddenly the weak Lelouch stopped, throwing the girl to the ground, panting heavily. Rivalz stopped behind him, also worn down by the escape. "What the hell are you?" Lelouch asked the girl between deep breaths, "This chaos is all your fault, isn't it?"

"Lelouch," Rivalz moved over to Lelouch, "What the heck is going on? Who was that Eleven...?"

Suddenly Lelouch snapped, whipping around and staring into Rivalz's eyes with pure fury. "Suzaku Kururugi. He was my friend... my friend ever since... ever since I came to Area Eleven..." Tears in his eyes, Lelouch looked away, teeth clenched and fists closed.

Frozen in shock, Rivalz looked at the back of Lelouch's head. "I'm sorry..." Rivalz meekly apologized.

"Not now... we have to get out of here." Lelouch responded coldly.

Over their heads, the sounds of explosions and gunfire could be distinctly heard. The dull roar of Knightmare frames shook the roof of the tunnel.

"What's going on up there?" Rivalz asked, panicked.

"If Britannia's keeping with the story that this was poison gas," Lelouch explained quietly, "then when the truck exploded, the gas should have been released... and people would know about it... but if there are witnesses that say otherwise... the lie is broken... so..." but Lelouch's voice only trailed off.

For a moment Rivalz didn't understand, but in a shining moment of clarity, Rivalz's eyes widened with shock. "No..."

Growling, Lelouch picked up the girl and began running again. "Let's go Rivalz." Silently, RIvalz followed.

But inside his head, all was not quiet_. They can't be. Clovis would never allow the military to just kill a bunch of people. Maybe this is higher than Clovis. Yeah, that has to be it. But those men were his personal guard? No, how could he just massacre an entire group of people without people realizing or caring? Maybe if they were Elevens..._

The image of the murdered solider... Suzaku...his friend's friend... played again in his head_. Dammit, how can anyone just kill someone...even an Eleven... for no good reason?_

Leleouch stopped again, this time at the foot of a flight of stairs. Waving Rivalz to stop, he slowly climbed up the stairs to get a better look. Rivalz snuck in behind him, looking up into a dank warehouse.

Lelouch turned back and whispered, "Keep quiet, stay here." Handing over the green-haired girl to Rivalz, the black-haired youth crept up the stairs, only to stop at the sound of gunfire.

Rivalz gaped as a dozen Elevens, gunned down by Britannian machine guns, fell bleeding to the ground. He placed a hand over his mouth at the sight of all the blood, their twisted expressions of pain.

Voices echoed in the empty warehouse. _The royal guard_! Rivalz's thoughts exploded_. Did they find us? No, they haven't seen us yet. If we keep quiet, maybe we can wait until they leave. Just keep quiet Rivalz, just keep..._

His thoughts were interrupted by his obnoxiously loud ringtone, deliberately chosen to disrupt everyone around him. Lelouch looked back at him in fury as Rivalz pulled out his phone and saw the caller ID. _DAMMIT SHIRLEY_! He cried inwardly and put away his phone, looking up to find himself facing the business end of a military assault rifle.

... ... ...

"Dammit Rivalz!" Shirly cursed as she closed her phone. "I thought I could at least get to Lelouch through you. What could possibly be so important!"

... ... ...

Rivalz was thrown against the wall alongside his friend as they faced a firing squad of Britannian soldiers. The girl had been taken from them, and now stood to the side, fully awake, flanked by two of the soldiers.

"What a fitting place for a terrorist to meet his end," the Royal Guard said, standing in front of the massacred Eleven bodies.

"We're not terrorists!" Rivalz cried for the third time in the past few minutes. "Please, just let us go. We won't say anything about this, we promise..."

"I'm afraid..." The officer sneered, pointing his gun at Rivalz's head for a third time, "...I can't take that chance."

"HE MUSTN'T DIE!"

With a cry, the green-haired girl forced her way between the soldier and Rivalz, only to be struck in the forehead by the flying bullet. Gracefully, the woman fell backwards and was caught in Lelouch's open arms.

"Y...You just shot her..." Rivalz stammered, completely forgetting that he was about to be shot himself.

"Our orders were to bring her back alive if possible..." The officer grimaced, lowering his gun. "Oh well, nothing can be done about it now."

"But..." Rivalz tried to begin, but the officer cut him off.

"We'll just say that the Royal Guard found the terrorist hideout and killed them all. Regrettably, the female hostage had already been tortured to death." The officer sneered again, "A good story, don't you think schoolboy...?"

Rivalz backed up to the wall, the soldiers raising their guns at him and Lelouch, who was kneeling on the ground, staring off into space. _This is it..._ Rivalz thought, _I'm going to die! I'm sorry Lelouch... Milly..._

"Tell me, how should a Britannian who detests his own country live his life?"

Rivalz looked down at his friend, who was slowly standing up, his voice calm and cool, his hand covering his left eye. "What are you, some kind of radical?" the officer grinned, only to look on in confusion as a wave of some strange power passed over everyone in the room.

"What's wrong? Why not shoot?" Lelouch continued

"Lelouch, don't give them any ideas..." Rivalz began, but was too stopped by the sudden wave of power. _What's going on here...?_

"Have you realized? The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed." Lelouch stared directly into the commanding officer's face.

His gun shaking slightly, the Guard asked fearfully, "What's happening here!"

His voice the epitome of power, Lelouch pulled his hand from his eye and cried forcefully. "I, Lelouch vi Britannia, command you, all of you, _DIE_."

Suddenly a wave, like a sudden cold gust filled the room. Rivalz pushed himself against the wall and the soldiers backed away one step. But soon they stopped. Opening their eyes, Rivalz could barely make out a red ring surrounding their irises.

Laughing like a madman, the commanding officer replied, "Happily your highness!" and placed his pistol to his neck. The other soldiers pulled out their own pistols and placed them to their necks as well.

"Fire!"

Rivalz could only gape as drops of blood flew on his face, the soldiers crumpled down into dead heaps, and the energy seemed to leave the room, only to be replaced by a cool, unforgiving darkness.

"Lelouch..." Rivalz whispered, turning to his friend, "how...?"

But Lelouch didn't respond, instead he stared at the spot where the soldiers had once been standing. And he smiled. It was the smile of no mortal, it was the smile of no human being. It was the smile of a demon, as he sadistically watched the destruction of his enemies.

Yes, Lelouch always managed to surprise him...

_..._ ... ...

_Author's Note: Tada! Another update! I hope that I can get the next two up before Thanksgiving. Remember though, don't hold me to that. Well, Lelouch has Geass, CC and Suzaku are "dead" and Rivalz is even more confused than before. Will he get explanations? Well, I hope to get Shinjuku over with before Thanksgiving, but don't hold me to that. I have other obligations and my eternal procrastination to deal with. Oh, and him (points a finger at P-1, who is twirling a gun in his fingers) Seriously, why are you here? You haven't officially been created yet! (SIlence) Fine..._

_Now, how can I get Rivalz into a Knightmare...?_

_RESPONSES:_

_Worker72: Yeah, I have to admit, giving Rivalz the call sign P-1 requires me to come up with a new chess title for Ohgi, and R-1 is a more powerful name, but this is still Rivalz we're talking about. Besides, I have some dialogue ideas based around it. _

_Kiki Hayashi: Thank you for the praise. I hope I can keep up Rivalz's character, even if it is changed by the new events of this story. Though I have to say RIvalz already has a "backbone." He stands up for his friends, even though his ideas happen to be very stupid in retrospect... and while he's doing it... and before he does it... Rivalz, have you ever made a smart choice?_


	5. Blood and Friendship

Code Geass: Rivalz of the Rebellion

Turn Four: Blood and Friendship

_Funny... after all of that I still trusted him..._

_..._ ... ...

_My name is Rivalz Cardemonde. _He thought in the dark, evil warehouse_, and that is probably the only thing I am sure of right now._

_Not too long ago, my bike broke down, and instead of staying behind with it to make sure it doesn't get stolen, I ran off after my friend Lelouch. If I had stayed behind, I'd probably be back at school, waiting for Lelouch to get back._

_Instead... _His thoughts trailed off as he looked over the massacred Elevens, the Royal Guards that had inexplicably committed suicide, the murdered green-haired girl, and his best friend, smiling like a demon.

_Man, I have the worst luck._

"Lelouch..." Rivalz repeated, regaining what semblance of calm he had. "...what... what happened?"

Lelouch turned around, and looked directly at his friend, a splatter of blood across his cheek. He seemed to look at his blue-haired friend with hesitation, like he was unwilling to do something, but this was brief and gave away to stern determination.

"Rivalz, go back into the tunnel system, find another way out, an exit outside the ghetto."

"What about you?" Rivalz asked.

Lelouch looked out at the ghetto, smoke rising over the dilapidated ruins. He didn't reply, but the look in his eyes was enough for Rivalz to guess what Lelouch was planning to do.

"Lelouch!" RIvalz stepped towards his friend, only to be stopped by a sudden glare from Lelouch. In his friend's purple eyes, he could have sworn he saw a glimmer of some dark, mystical force.

"Rivalz, I'll meet up with you soon. Just find a way out of the ghetto and away from the Britannian military." Rivalz only looked on in shock at Lelouch. The black haired teen looked away and continued, "Rivalz, I don't want you to talk about this with anyone. ANYONE." He repeated before Rivalz could open his mouth. "I'll meet up with you after everything is done."

"Lelouch, you're crazy!" Rivalz shouted. "Why can't you come with me? Or at least let me stay with..."

Suddenly, the sound of landspinners broke the silence. "Rivalz, go!" Lelouch cried and pushed his friend backwards into the stairs leading back down into the subway. Rivalz looked back at his friend, and saw for the first time in his life Lelouch... in pain.

Sadly, Rivalz ran back into the tunnels.

_Lelouch, what's going on...?_ Rivalz thought as he ran again. _How were you able to get those guards to kill themselves? What happened to you?_

As his mind reflected on the traumatic incident, Rivalz recalled Lelouch saying, _"Lelouch vi Britannia commands you..."_

_Why did you call yourself that? Does it have something to do with how you killed those guards? What do you think you're doing staying behind? How do you think you could stand against the Britannians and the terrorists all by yourself?_

Halfway into the dark tunnel, after running blindly for over a minute, Rivalz stopped and clenched his fists, breathing heavily. "Dammit," he swore under his breath, "Why am I just leaving you there... what kind of friend am I...?"

"I thought I heard something over there!"

Rivalz jumped at the sound of the harsh Japanese-accented voice. Quickly, he leapt behind a pile of crates and forced himself not to make a sound. Glancing out between the cracks his hiding place, he saw three Elevens carrying machine guns, two with brown hair and one with bright red.

"Dammit!" The redhead yelled, "I could've sworn I heard..."

"Tamaki, we need to keep heading towards Ohgi." One of the other terrorists interrupted their supposed leader. "For all we know, the damn Britannians could have overrun his position by now."

"Gagh! Ohgi can't do anything without me can he?" Tamaki growled, dashing off. "All right, this way!"

"That's the wrong way Tamaki..."

"I...knew that..."

When the terrorists had fled, Rivalz peeked out behind the box. _These are the terrorists?_ Rivalz wondered, having never seen one this close. _They're just like... _But he shook his head of these thoughts and walked out from behind his hiding spot.

_If they're heading that way, then the center of the battle must be there too. I should be running the other way, but Lelouch is..._

Rivalz gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut_. Lelouch, I'm supposed to be the one who makes stupid decisions..._

Opening his eyes again, Rivalz stared with grim determination down the tunnel the terrorists had dashed down. _Lelouch, I can't just leave you out there. What kind of friend would I be if I left you alone... you could get killed_. Making up his mind, he began to follow the terrorists. _Man, this is a stupid idea. But I have to save Lelouch..._

...

_(Author's still body is poked by reviewer fco ala) GASP! I'M ALIVE! Wow, it's been such a long time. What have I missed? (P-1 looks at him disapprovingly) Ah. That. I'm sorry it's been so long, I wish I could say I was busy with school work, but frankly I simply hit a major case of writer's block and decided to put this down and look at it later. I didn't realize that I wasn't going to look at it for another five months! I'm sorry for the huge delay, but this is what I have written so far. The chapter was going to be MUCH longer than this but, as I said, I've run into a hole in my planning for the series. Basically, I want to get Rivalz into a knightmare somehow, but I can't come up with a way to do it without it being forced and contrived (Wow, redundant adjectives, I haven't written in a while...). If anyone has any ideas, please, write them in the reviews. Thanks to people like Kiki Hayashi, Worker72, and Frenschel Boo for reviewing, and remember, I can ALWAYS use new ideas._

_P.S. If you haven't read Dauntless by Allora Gale, why the hell are you reading this and not that? Check it out. It's thousands of times better than whatever I can come up with and, fortunately, updates far more regularly and frequently._


	6. Knightmares and Terrorists

_A/N: You know what, because I can never update on time, I'll never update at all. This is my official statement of cancellation. Goodbye suckers!_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_Bad April Fool's Joke was bad..._

_... ... ..._

**Code Geass: Rivalz of the Rebellion**

**Turn Five: Knightmares and Terrorists**

_How did I get my hands on a knightmare? Heh... that's a long story..._

_..._ ... ...

_Oh... man..._

Rivalz had never been within the boundaries of the ghettos before, but he had passed by them before: grey, ruined buildings, no effort in trying to rebuild the lost city centers. Every once in a while he would see a trail of smoke from some open flame, an attempt by the locals to keep warm during winter and in the dark nights. He once heard that Shinjuku used to be the center for business in the old Japan before it was demolished by the invading army. After hearing this he could never refrain from smirking, admiring the sad irony of the once proud land being reduced to rubble.

But this was too much.

Bullet holes, scattered corpses, collapsed buildings, these things now haunted the streets of the ghetto. Blood and bodies draped the concrete and asphalt of the ruins, their hollow buildings aflame once again, as though the war had returned after eight long years. In the distance, Knightmares, rifles, explosions, and screams could be heard echoing in the canyons of grey.

In short, everything was completely fucked up.

After taking in the carnage, having been frozen by the violence of the scene, Rivalz regained feeling in his legs and soon ran for cover under a nearby awning that had not collapsed under the barrage.

_Lelouch was right, the army did a real number here_, he thought as he scanned the horizon,_ But it's hard to believe that Clovis was behind all of this. But it was his Royal Guard in..._ he shook his head, _Dammit, Rivalz. You've got to find Lelouch!_

After looking both ways to see that the coast was clear, he dashed down the street, trying in vain to remember the general direction to the warehouse he left Lelouch at. The destruction did not abate, as the sounds of the military operations only intensified, along with the sounds of the terrorists futile resistance.

_Come on Rivalz, you're starting to sound like Lelouch there_. Rivalz couldn't help but to think of his friend as he ran towards the violence. _Lelouch, what are you planning on doing? How are you going to get out of all of this? Maybe you're going to side with the terrorists? No, that's insane, why would he- _"SHIT!"

Lost in his own thoughts, Rivalz was stunned as a large figure burst through the wall to his left, showering him with plaster and pieces of debris. Bringing his arms down from his face, he gasped as a blue Knightmare, marked with the red shoulder guards of the Purist Faction, had suddenly appeared in front of him. A Sutherland... Rivalz gaped. Having never seen one up close before, he marveled at the size of the rifle in the Knightmare's hand.

Until the giant beast turned its massive head, faceplate retracted to reveal the factsphere sensors, and looked directly at Rivalz.

"GYAAYAAGH!" Crying madly, Rivalz regained his composure quick enough to dash down the side ally, barely missing the massive assault rifle rounds that nearly tore his body apart.

_Great! After all of that, I'm going to get gunned down by a knightmare!_ Even while he ran down the alley, debris flying everywhere and a knightmare turning down on his path, Rivalz couldn't help but moan. _Agh! Lelouch, help me!_

Before the knightmare could get another clear shot, Rivalz dived out off the alley, into a wrecked square. not even thinking about where he was going any more, Rivalz scrambled to his feet and ran off perpendicular to the alley. Behind him, Rivalz could hear the knightmare rip around the corner, tearing off a chunk of a building. Over his heavy panting, he could hear the knightmare level his rifle at his back.

"GAAGH!" With a final scream, Rivalz threw himself to the ground and covered his head as he heard an explosion behind him.

Moments passed as Rivalz cowered, praying that he would go to heaven, hoping that god would overlook simple things like gambling and not going to church on Sunday in light of everything that had happened. It took him a while, lying on the ground, eyes clenched shut, to realize bullets don't usually explode.

He finally opened his eyes to find himself lying in a piled of debris face-down, soot over his body. Slowly he turned around to see the knightmare was now leaning against the building, its left shoulder pad blown off and smoking. The giant metal beast was silent, even though the engine's hum could still faintly be heard.

That's when the man jumped out of his hiding place across the street. From his hiding place, Rivalz could see the Eleven, armed with a rocket launcher, was running towards the knightmare, evidently the man who saved Rivalz life whether he knew it or not. Quickly, the terrorist ran up to the knightmare, laughing like a maniac. Grabbing onto the side of the machine, the man began to climb up to the cockpit block, which was apparently undamaged.

_Thank god. I was afraid I was going to get killed..._ Rivalz began to push himself up from his lying position. However, as he slowly began to get up, he knocked a piece of rubble down the mound he had thrown himself into.

"Wha... who's there?"

"Eep." Rivalz froze as the terrorist called out to him, squeaking in fear. _Oh great... if I turn around... he'll..._

"What the... a school boy?" The terrorist said, apparently recognizing Rivalz's uniform. "What are you doing here? Hey! Hands up!"

Rivalz turned around quickly, his hands in the air, crying, "Please don't kill me! I'm just..."

But he was cut off as the cockpit block suddenly slid open. The terrorist, caught off guard, clipped off his perch on top of the machine, and fell head-first into the ground. There was an audible crack as the head hit the pavement. The pilot, having recovered from the blast, had opened the cockpit, dazed and confused. The knight, a red-headed man with an equally red stain creeping down the side of his head, slowly looked around.

Before RIvalz could say anything, let alone thank the man for saving his life, the man promptly fainted. WIth his restraints undone, the knight slipped out of the cockpit block and onto the ground. Quickly, Rivalz dashed up to the man and kneeled next to him. "Hey, are you all right?" He asked the pilot that tried to kill him no more than a minute ago.

Clumsily, Rivalz fumbled for the man's neck. "Eh, I think that's a pulse..." Rivalz mumbled as he felt the blood moving through the man's arteries. Looking over, he saw the terrorist that had also saved his life (_today's not a good day for things making sense, huh...)_ and slowly walked towards him.

The man's rocket launcher lay at the dead man's side, while a walkie-talkie stuck out of his pocket. "Ah!" Rivalz suddenly remembered, "Lelouch grabbed one just like this." Reaching into the man's coat, he grabbed the communicator. "Maybe I can get in touch with him using this..."

His vision wandered back to the dead terrorist. Frowning, Rivalz noticed how the man looked so innocent, not at all like the villains from TV or the news. "Geez. If this guy wasn't an Eleven," Rivalz remarked out loud, "I'd have never pinned him for being a terrorist."

He shook his head. "Gah, Rivalz what's with all of this, you have to find Lelouch!" This point was underlined by a large, red explosion from nearby. Tucking the communicator into his pocket, Rivalz made to continue running on his way.

But then the slightly damaged knightmare caught his eye...

_Maybe..._ A stray thought crossed Rivalz's mind. I_ mean, taking a knightmare is a lot easier than travelling on foot. And after all, there was that one time two years ago..._

His internal debate didn't last long, as he began to climb up into the pilot's chair.

Two years ago, Lelouch came down with a fever that prevented him from getting out of bed, much to his displeasure, and Milly's. The School Festival was coming up, and the Prez had decided that this year she was going to do what no other Student Council President before her had done, bake the world's largest pizza. Her plans involved Lelouch using the Ashford's old Ganymede to throw the dough to make the pizza, but with Lelouch bedridden, the plan was likely to be scrapped. At least, it would have been if the Prez wasn't in charge. That and if Rivalz wasn't completely devoted to proving himself to Milly.

After a crash course in knightmare piloting, Rivalz stepped into the Ganymede and began the elaborate ceremony of bringing all of the ingredients together and finally flipping the pizza. Moving the knightmare was no problem, in fact, Rivalz mastered that part fairly quickly. It was when the pizza had to be tossed was where the problem began.

After the students had gone away to clean the dough from their hair and clothes, and the cleanup team began to pick up the remaining dough from the grass in front of the stage, Milly simply sighed and proclaimed that she would not stop until she made the world's largest pizza. The next year didn't end any better, and Rivalz wasn't confident for this year either.

But to make a long story short, Rivalz was fairly confident he could pilot this Sutherland. That was, until he actually got in and saw all of the complicated extra gizmos that dotted the interface.

"Oh man, this is a lot more complicated than the Ganymede." Rivalz whistled as he pulled into the pilot's chair and closed the hatch. "Uh, okay, if I remember this correctly..." Rivalz tentatively grabbed control of the two steering apparatuses and gripped them firmly. "Ah...okay... um..." Rivalz stammered, desperately trying to remember everything from years ago. Closing his eyes, he jerked on the controls. Suddenly and sharply the machine pushed itself upright, one shoulder pad down, but still functional. Rivalz opened his eyes, "Okay... that was easy. Let's see if I can get this moving..."

It wasn't long before Rivalz had pulled out onto the road and had resumed his journey to Lelouch's last known location.

Rivalz glanced down at the map, a weird green thing that seemed awfully familiar to a video game's mini-map. Blue dots, representing Britannian knightmares, moved across its surface, relaying information back to its command center and to the other units. Fortunately for Rivalz, this enabled him to avoid any uncomfortable meetings with any more Britannian soldiers.

"All right Lelouch." Rivalz said aloud, looking back to the main monitor with a smirk. "I'm on my way to save you. I've got a knightmare loaded with ammunition and I'm not leaving until I know you're safe. Now all I need to know is where you are..."

"The West entrance!"

Rivalz was stunned as he looked at the communicator he propped up next to him. The jostling knightmare had caused the walkie-talkie to switch channels until a familiar voice came through.

"What?" A familiar female voice, responded.

"Use the tracks to move to the West entrance."

Rivalz stared at the communicator, unconciously moving his knightmare towards the West entrance as well.

_Lelouch...? And is that... the terrorist...?_

... ... ...

_Well, that took longer than any of us wanted. Though without a threat to pour Jello in my shoes, this probably would've been delayed even further. Okay, I have a real excuse this time: school work. For real now. Okay, this is what was going to be the second part of the chapter I threw up a while ago, the one I simply couldn't write. But now it's up, and it feels like there are infinite possibilities open before me. That is, until a few episodes into the series..._

_There's only one or two chapters left in Shinjuku, and I can't wait to get out of there. I have a nice idea for wrapping this segment up. But after then, I could really use some help. Advice, advice! Suggestions are welcome. Threats... less so but I guess that motivates me... (looks over at P-1) You can put away the Jello for Flaffy, I'm done writing._


End file.
